Social Media Marketing for the Small Business: Series 3 of 8

Welcome back for Part 3 of our 8 part Social Media guide. Part 3 deals with something that, while not exactly a specific social media site, is very social and can attract people to your business and your services just as well. What I’m referring to is your company Blog, a social media platform that can make all the difference in your customer base and your revenue stream.

The basic strategy for your company Blog is simple; if you don’t already have a custom domain name you need to decide on one and register it ASAP. Setting up your own Blog isn’t necessarily a difficult endeavor and so if you’re comfortable with WordPress or Blogger then go ahead and set your Blog up on your own.

An alternative to these sites is the site Posterous where you can set up a simple Blog that will let you tell people about your company in your own way using written content, videos and pictures.  Taking a little bit of time to compare these choices is a good idea to see which one of them feels ‘right’ for you and your business.

Of course if you’re a newb or have never set up a Blog before it may be a good idea to enlist the aid of an expert who you can give direction to about your business and who can give you direction about setting up the Blog or possibly set it up for you completely.

Once you’ve set up your Blog you’re ready to start building an audience for it, and that can only mean one thing; excellent content. The simple fact is, no matter what your platform or who your audience is, content is king on the internet.  Without interesting, informative and helpful content you might as well not even start because nobody is going to stick around (or keep coming back) if they don’t enjoy what they see on your Blog.

One of the best ways to do this is to focus on what you want to tell your prospective readers and customers. This will of course depend on your expertise and what your company specializes in. It also will be helpful if what you’re blogging about interests YOU because Blogs are a long-term investment that require time and resources to start and maintain. 

So get started Blogging and, once you’re up and running, come on back for Part 4, Yelp.  See you soon!